I am so confused

[rdsx28]

Hi all , I am so happy I found this site. I am planning a trip to WDW in November. I had checked into using it's a small world travel agency and they gave me a price for my family. I thought it was high and asked if I used the AAA discount if it would be less expensive. She stated that AAA would be the cheapest. That is for a room only and I found a site for tickets. We are planning to stay at Coronado Springs. Has anyone stayed here? What are your thoughts on it? I was just wondering if they come out with anymore speials will I be able to change my plans? Also has anyone ever used It's a Small world travel agency? I have heard they are the best? I don't know what to do? I am also a nurse and I see the swan and dolphin have specials only to the end of October. How are those 2 hotels and which is better? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Rootskate]

Welcome to the Dis! If you book a room and a better rate comes out down the road, you can call back and have that discount applied to your existing reservation. I have never used Small World vacations or stayed at the Swan or Dolphin, so I can't offer any advice on that. We have stayed at Coronado Springs and absolutely loved it! It is a beautiful resort! Have you checked out www.allearsnet.com? They have tons of pictures and a "fact sheet" listed for each of the Resorts. Hope this helps a little!

 

[Meezers]

I used It's a Small World for my last trip and the one I am planning now.

Marion is my TA and she is wonderful....she applied the AAA rates the day they came out (our trip isn't until Jan 2006) and I know she will apply any discounts that come out.

By the way...did you know if you use a TA you can still do the old fashioned AP discount? Get up to three rooms on one AP? The only thing keeping me from doing this...this will be our last trip for a while and you need to have the AP voucher number to give to the TA to get the discount. Figured by the time the discount came up....if I ordered the AP then by the time I got it the rooms would all be gone.

Our last 2 trips have been booked "room only" and with tickets separate. Oh...I also recently found out that when you get to WDW they can take the tickets you purchased separatly and add them to your room key so you only have one thing to worry about!

We like taking our trips this way cause with all the "package" things we just felt too much stress trying "to get our money's worth"!

Hope you have a great trip!

PS...haven't stayed at the Swan or Dolphin...but did see pictures of the "heavenly beds" someplace on line...they looked to die for! CSR is a nice resort...but having lived in the desert SW for many years...not my cup of tea! May I ask why you selected this resort? Do you have children? Just ask this cause CSR is nice...but kinda 'business" oriented. Great food court and pool though!

 

[mickeysaver]

We are certainly not newbies to the WDW vacation experience, but we also had never booked a room for a moderate hotel using our AAA discount either until last week. We chose CSR because it seemed to be the right hotel for us at least for this trip. We loved the look of POR and POFQ, but they just did not seem to be the right fit. So, we decided on CSR. I had considered using SMV as my TA, but they did not book MYW packages with the AAA discount. Only AAA can book MYW packages, but you or a TA can book a room only through CRO using the AAA discount. We went to AAA and had a less than stellar service experience, so I just called CRO and made the reservation as a room only booking, I chose to pay Disney the extra $20.74 for our two MYW PH tickets so that they would be tied to our reservation and be on the room key for the convenience factor.....we could have saved the money and gone with tickets from Ticketmania, but one less thing to worry about dealing with was worth the money that day. lol

If I was going to use a TA, it would be SMV only. I have heard nothing but good about them. Every other TA that I have seen that deals with Disney travel seems to have a complaint issued about them by one or more individuals. So, if you chose to use a TA, SMV is a great way to go and for a room only, they can apply the AAA discount and tie the MYW park passes to the reservation for you too, if you are buying through Disney.

BTW - welcome to the Dis. You have found the best message boards on the net that deals with all things related to Disney travel. Maggie

 

[blueiis99]

I have never used its a small world either, but I found that by using this board, and all earsnet, I found many many great saving's tips, and ideas. I originally book our trip in Feb for August. After researching these sites, I was able to change my reservations to get back over 600.00. (so far). Take your time do the research, and you will be so happy that you are prepared.

btw,,, The previous post said that you can put your myw tickets on the room card... this is the first I've heard of that, can you tell me what you did? This would be wonderful for me since I am the "keeper of the documents" during our trips. I have 4 people going, and this would help tremendously!!!

thanks

also welcome to the boards,,, this is a fab site! and the people are so warm and helpful.

 

[rdsx28]

Thank You all so much for all the great advice.I chose CSR because we have stayed at a few other resorts and wanted to try something new. I have one child who is 5. I was given a room only rate for 8 days 7 nights Nov.19-26 with AAA discount 983.00 with tax . Does this seem like a good price to you guys. Thanks so much again!

 

[snels]

Hello,
Welcome to the Dis!
We have stayed at the Swan on our last four visits, and are staying there again this fall. We like the Swan. The biggest reason we stay there is the location. We will continue staying there if we can get a discount.
The beds are quite comfortable, but I don't care for the room decor.
I have always had good experiences with the employees at the Swan.
We love to go to Tubbi's restaurant for breakfast. The last time we arrived there one of the ladies at the counter gave me a big welcome back hug.

I do miss the magical feeling you get at the Disney resorts, but as long as we can get a good deal at the Swan or Dolphin, we will stay there.
I see you want to try Coronado Springs. We stayed there once. It was quite nice.
Sandy

 

[cranbiz]

I haven't used Small World, I used Dreams Unlimited. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the Disney Specialists. They all offer planning and will always try for the best rate when they become available.

To make the most of one of these TA's you do need to let them know what you like and how you would like to spend your vacation.

I liked CSR but did not love it. I much prefer CBR. I don't think, though, that you can go wrong with either resort.

 

[Meezers]

In reference to having the tickets put on your room key...I just asked Marion...my TA at Small World She hasn't steered me wrong yet!

The only bad thing about using Small World is it you want to book a AAA package...they can't to a package...just room only. But I like my TA so much that there is no way I am going to try another one!

The first time we used Marion....we did a group gathering from another board.

We were celebrating Mom's b-day at MK...she had a hair cut and fly by pixie dusting....then we went into one of the shops....we got separated and suddenly I hear someone singing "Happy Birthday". Total strangers....to my Mom....but guess what?! It was Marion and her family! What a great way to meet and this tells you what type of person she is!

PS....just ordered my tickets from Maple Leaf! Can't wait...only about 200 days now! Can you tell I am planning obsessed?

 

[Dustmouse]

We really enjoyed the Swan! The beds were no doubt "heavanly" and the location was excellent for our family. We loved catching the boat in the morning over to Epcot or MGM. That was like a amusement ride all in itself. True the decor at the Swan is not too exciting, but it was comfortable and the view from our room was very nice. We also liked the restaurant at the Dolphin that was open 24/7.

 

[jzmom]

I am currently using Small World Vacations for our vacation in Feb. 2006. So Far Teresa has been great. She always gets back to me in a prompt fashion and I have not had any negative interactions. She always lays out my different options for me.

 

[BellyDaisy]

I used Small World for our last vacation and our upcoming honeymoon. Diana has been our TA both times, and she is beyond wonderful!! We originally booked at Contemporary tower view with her, then changed our minds and cancelled. When we changed our minds *back* again, she was so wonderful about re-booking (this time at AKL Savannah.) I highly recommend them!!!